Town's Five Year Stadium Goal

GRIMSBY Town hope to take plans for a new community stadium, with the goal of £200 million investment in related housing and retail development, to the next level before the end of the year.

The club has revealed that it is keen to secure a five-year lease for the Peaks Parkway site, in order that it can work up its proposals with other interested parties.

After more than 115 years at Blundell Park, the club are desperate to provide the new facility that will be a springboard to greater success in the much-coveted Football League.

A new stadium with its 2,000-space car park and its enabling developments could regenerate the area with an estimated £200 million of investment.

After being knocked back in a bid to build on land in Great Coates, the 22.7-hectare site between Peaks Parkway and Weelsby Avenue, which includes allotments and a former council depot, is now at the top of the table.

Town director John Fenty, said the organisation would work with the community at every stage to ensure any concerns were addressed.

And he stressed that any five-year lease on the site was not a green light for development – but a statement of intent, which would allow the club to have further talks with other businesses, that could help underpin the plan and offer financial backing.

As already revealed, the club's plan is to build a 14,000 seater community venue, with a 2,000-space car park.

A new retail and housing development will help fund the scheme and is vital if it is to go ahead.

Mr Fenty said: "It will leave a lasting legacy, deliver a flagship project, the first for generations. It would also secure the vast array of community schemes currently being delivered by Grimsby Town Sports and Education Trust, the club's delivery arm, all of which are as at much risk as the club itself, should this scheme not come to fruition."

This latest move comes as a year-long exclusivity agreement with North East Lincolnshire Council runs out.

The council and GTFC had the agreement in place so the club could do initial assessments on the viability of the site.